Ford invests $135 million into electric cars, expands jobs WITH VIDEO

Ford Motor Co. is planning to expand its commitment to electric vehicles with an investment of $135 million in design, engineering and production of key components.

Joe Bakaj, vice president of power train engineering, said Ford is adding new green jobs, and that the investment will include hiring more engineers to work on electric vehicle projects -- and concentrating the 1,000 already working on EV projects -- under one roof in Dearborn, in what the company is calling the Advanced Electrification Center.

Ford is also plans to double its battery-testing capabilities and speed up bringing electrified vehicles such as hybrids, plug-in hybrids that run mainly on electricity and battery-driven EVs to market by at least 25 percent, creating even more fuel-efficient choices for customers.

"The good news for customers is that they not only have more choices, but they have faster access to Ford's latest and greatest in fuel-saving technologies and vehicles," Bakaj said.

The U.S. Department of Energy has supplied the financing for the EV project, but Bakaj also was careful to note that the company's analysis of the current market demand and future trends would have pushed Ford to make the investment on its own.

Ford continues to build its electrified team by hiring 60 engineers hired in the past year and dozens more positions to be filled this year.

The ongoing investment already has helped reduce the cost of Ford's current hybrid system by 30 percent versus the company's previous generation system. Plus, Ford is launching five electrified vehicles this year as part of its power of choice strategy to deliver leading fuel economy across its lineup and triple electrified vehicle production capacity by 2013.

Earlier this month, Ford announced plans to build hybrid transmission at its Van Dyke plant in Sterling Heights.

Ford spent $220 million to transform the Van Dyke plant into a modern operation capable of producing the company's new hybrid transmission as well as other fuel-efficient transmissions.

The company has added 130 jobs as part of the hybrid transmission launch, with the remaining workers scheduled to start work by the end of August. The Van Dyke plant now has a total of 1,350 workers.

The hybrid transmission, which incorporates two electric motors, is the first hybrid transmission to be designed and built by Ford. Previously, hybrid transmission production was done by a supplier in Japan. By bringing the development work in-house, Ford reduced development costs 20 percent.

"Our investments in Van Dyke Transmission make it our most advanced, efficient transmission plant in the world," said Jim Tetreault, vice president of North America Manufacturing. "This demonstrates our commitment to bringing jobs and technology back into Ford and North America - actions that not only benefit our employees but our customers and the communities where we do business."